Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa

by Audrey Salkeld

A British prime minister in Queen Victoria's England once dismissed Kilimanjaro as “that mountain behind Zanzibar with the unrememberable name.” Today, there can be few who don't recognize its most beautiful and evocative name. From the literature of Ernest Hemingway, from movies, and from a multitude of images, the world is familiar with the Elysian view of elephants and giraffes grazing against the shimmering backdrop of Kilimanjaro. Floating over the plains of East Africa, more mirage than mountain, Kilimanjaro exudes mystery and romance. At the same time, it is an accessible mountain, drawing more than 20,000 visitors each year to its slopes and snowy dome. The climb up Kilimanjaro has been likened to a journey from the equator to the poles, passing as it does through zone after zone of climatic change, from tropical forest to frozen desert. And Kilimanjaro's human history is no less rich than its natural history. Close to the cradle of mankind, the mountain has watched history unfold at its foot, from the earliest hunter-gatherers and the scramble of colonization to World War I battles and the wave of independence that swept Africa in the mid-20th century.

In To the Roof of Africa, accomplished mountaineer and writer Audrey Salkeld presents a comprehensive and awe-inspiring portrait of this noble mountain and its myriad facets. To be published in conjunction with the release of David Breashears's stunning new IMAX® film about Kilimanjaro, this book is an extraordinary journey to the roof of Africa.

Genres: Travel, Africa, Nonfiction

271 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2002

About the author

Audrey Salkeld was an English mountaineer, historian, and author. She reviewed and documented the contents of the archives of the early expeditions to Everest, including researching George Mallory and the events behind his death.

Her book A Portrait Of Leni Riefenstahl won the Boardman Tasker award for 1996 and she was Chair of Judges for the award in 2014.

She translated from the German books by Reinhold Messner and Kurt Diemberger and co-edited works with David Breashears and Chris Bonington. She she also contributed to several documentaries related to mountaineering.

Audrey also assisted Jeffrey Archer with his fictionalised account of Mallory and Irvine, Paths of Glory (2009), winning his praise “for her invaluable help, advice and expertise”.

In 2022 Salkeld was made an Honorary Member of the Alpine Club "in recognition of her enormous contribution to mountaineering journalism, literature and film".

Reviews

[Imaculate Mosha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the learning the history of my tribe and our mountain . Even though the writer is a westerner, they did a good job at writing the POV of locals.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

The reading material is just very dry. Hard for me to keep interested.